January is National Train Your Dog Month!

A well trained dog is definitely something worth celebrating! Assess how well your dog is trained and determine if your dog (and you) need a refresher course to re-enforce good behavior, or maybe you would just like to teach your dog a new trick this January!

Most dogs aim to please you, but they don’t know what you want unless you teach them. Training is an important part of helping your dog become a member of your family.

The benefits of a well-trained dog include:

Your dog does what you want. Trained dogs have good manners and generally are a joy to be around.

Training provides mental stimulation, which is very important for a dog’s psychological wellbeing. A bored dog can be an unhappy dog. If dogs do not receive enough mental stimulation, they may go looking for it – think garbage cans, and chewed shoes or furnishings.

Training is an excellent bonding activity between pet owner and pet. It builds respect and trust.

Training teaches your dog to understand when you are happy with him and when you’re not. You will also have a better idea of how he feels about things as well.

Training sessions tire your dog out. On days that you can’t take your dog out for a long walk or run, a half hour training session will satisfy his energy requirements.

If you take your dog to training classes, your dog has a chance to socialize with other dogs and will learn how to behave around other dogs.

Training keeps your dog safe. By teaching certain commands, such as “stay,“ “here,” “wait,” and “leave it” you may save your dog’s life. If your dog is about to run after a cat on the other side of the road, yet responds to the command “stay,” your dog is safe from being hit by a car.

Training is fun! It doesn’t all have to be about safety and good behavior commands. Once your pet has mastered the basic commands, you can introduce sports, such as agility or flyball, tricks, such as roll over, and of course advanced obedience for some additional fun training exercises.

Trained dogs are just more fun to be around. Whether you have friends or family coming to your home, or you take your dog with you on outings, a well behaved dog is a welcome presence – a poorly behaved dog is not.

This January, consider signing up for an obedience class, agility class, or just teach your dog some new tricks! Even if your dog’s “rollover” is lopsided or he’s not the fastest at agility, both you and your dog will enjoy the time that you spend together.